---
title: 'Troubleshooting: Draft restore'
path: troubleshooting/draft-restore
status: published
---

# Troubleshooting: Draft restore

## "A refresh trashes everything"

The canvas autosaves every change to `localStorage` (debounced 500 ms) and restores on boot. If you refresh and your work is gone:

### 1. Verify autosave is writing

In your browser's DevTools → Application → Local Storage, look for entries:

- `scaiflow_draft_<flow_id>` — the per-flow draft envelope (JSON with `saved_at` + `flow`).
- `scaiflow_draft_latest` — a pointer to the most-recently-saved draft id.

If these are missing entirely, autosave isn't running. Probable causes:

- **Incognito with no localStorage** — some browsers' incognito modes disable localStorage; the autosave silently degrades.
- **Quota exceeded** — very large flows can hit per-origin quota; autosave catches the QuotaExceededError and skips.
- **localStorage disabled by extension/policy** — same fail-silent behavior.

If the entries ARE there, autosave is working — the restore step is the issue.

### 2. Verify restore on boot

On a fresh page load, the canvas reads `scaiflow_draft_latest` to find the most-recent draft id, then loads that draft. If `_latest` doesn't exist (first-ever load) or points at a flow id whose `scaiflow_draft_<id>` entry was cleared, restore doesn't run.

When restoring works: the canvas appears with your last state, undo history is cleared (no point undoing back to the empty default), and autosave continues.

### 3. "I saved the flow but the restore loaded an old version"

Saved flows get their drafts cleared on successful Save (`flowsListStore.saveCurrent` calls `clearDraft(content.id)`). After Save, refreshing should load the freshly-saved server-side version, not a stale draft.

If you're getting a stale draft instead: the Save might have succeeded but the `clearDraft` step didn't (clearDraft is in a try/catch that silently ignores quota/disabled-storage errors). Manually clear the localStorage entry for that flow id and refresh.

### 4. "My currentId is gone but the content is back"

`flowsListStore.state.currentId` (which saved-flow row you're editing) is now persisted to localStorage under `scaiflow_current_flow` as `{id, version}`. If the content restores but the canvas thinks it's unsaved (Save button reads "Save new" instead of "Save"), the pointer was missing or cleared.

This wasn't always persisted — older sessions may have orphaned drafts whose `_latest` pointer survives but the `_current_flow` entry was never set. To recover: manually save the restored flow under the right name; the new save will create a fresh row.

## What the autosave actually tracks

Solid's `createStore` is fine-grained reactive — it tracks property reads. The autosave effect uses `JSON.stringify(state.flow)` inside the effect, which walks every property recursively. That makes the tracker pick up every mutation — node moves, label edits, edge creates, kind config tweaks — not just top-level replaces.

If you're testing whether autosave fires on a particular action: open DevTools → Application → Local Storage → watch the `scaiflow_draft_<id>` entry's `saved_at` field. It should bump 500 ms after every edit.

## Multi-tab safety

Each flow id gets its own localStorage key. Editing flow A in tab 1 and flow B in tab 2 doesn't clobber either.

But: the `_latest` pointer is single-valued. If you have two tabs editing two different flows, whichever tab autosaved most recently is what a third-tab refresh restores. Save explicitly to your backend if you care which one comes back.

## "I want a clean slate"

To wipe all canvas autosave state:

```js
// In browser DevTools console:
for (const key of Object.keys(localStorage)) {
  if (key.startsWith("scaiflow_draft_") || key === "scaiflow_current_flow") {
    localStorage.removeItem(key);
  }
}
```

Or click **New** in the toolbar — that explicitly clears the current flow's draft.